Candy is arguably the most nostalgic impulse buy for most adults. Sticky-sweet, super sour, or indulgent and chocolaty, your favorite confection instantly takes you back (if you ever grew out of your sweet tooth in the first place!) As a proud candy connoisseur with a business background to boot, Mayssa Chehata founded Behave. Launched this August with guilt-free gummy bears, Behave brings the fun back into candy for millennial consumers, keeping them low in sugar, but high on sweetness.

“We want to bring in the grown-ups who don’t want to eat candy anymore. We’re trying to come into the space and say, ‘Hey, don't feel like you can't eat candy.’ Eat the whole bag and don't feel guilty. We have that cleaner product that you can feel good about.” - Mayssa

Since launching, Mayssa has been featured in Fast Company and as an expert in Adweek’s Brandweek event. She talked to RADICHE about her founder journey and thoughtful, brand-forward approach to spicing up sweets with Behave.

Childhood and Background

“If my parents gave me ten dollars I would buy something for a dollar and stash nine. I always saved and held onto it, and I’m still like that. I like to have my little nest egg.” - Mayssa

Mayssa was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and her family is originally from Tunisia, so a career in international development was on her radar from an early age. Like many millennials, her childhood enterprises included a bustling thrifting and reselling business where she relished in the thrill of earning quick cash. For undergrad, she set out to follow her dream of working for the Foreign Service with a degree in International Relations. A few years later and that dream had transformed into a path that led Mayssa to some of the world’s most iconic brands. She first found herself at the NFL through an internship in the league’s new international department.

“Even though the NFL is a huge company, that was my first taste of startup life and trying to build a brand internationally and build a business. That was my first taste of the hustle culture. I ended up taking a job with the NFL after college and that's what set me on this path in the business world,” Mayssa said.

After the NFL she spent time working in partnerships at Uber, and went on to be an early employee (one of 13!) at Daily Harvest, her first foray into the food world and working on a physical product. Her last position working at a company other than her own was at SoulCycle, where she introduced an entirely new partnership program to the brand.

“SoulCycle is a massive brand with the resources of a big company, but because everything had grown so fast there was an opportunity to go back and lay the groundwork for new business development and partnerships,” Mayssa said. “It’s not about who can pay the most money, it’s about who aligns with the brand and who the audience can benefit from. Make it integrated and organic.”

Over the course of her time innovating and transforming at these companies, Mayssa was going through her own evolution that served as the inspiration for Behave.

The Aha Moment

“I was starting to reevaluate what I was eating and trying to eat cleaner, but the one thing I could never kick was candy and sugar. As a kid I felt like I had to hoard candy, and I think that carried over into adulthood. I had a very unhealthy relationship with candy and sweets, so as I was trying to eat cleaner, I started looking for better products across everything, like chickpea pasta or plant-based options. The one thing I couldn't find was candy.” - Mayssa

In 2017, Mayssa started paying close attention to the candy aisle in the context of her own health and wellness. She found that when it came to candy, there were either traditional sugar-free products that were filled with artificial ingredients or all-natural options that lost the flavor and fun factor but often had even higher sugar content. There was nothing that fulfilled her sweet tooth but satisfied her discerning eye for healthier nutrition facts. While still at SoulCycle, she gave in to her craving to explore this problem as a business opportunity.

“I started thinking about what it would take to create this product,” Mayssa said. “Step one was come up with the recipe and formula. I reached out to Elizabeth Falkner who is the celebrity chef who makes all of our candies and does the product development. I think the idea resonated with her because even though she's this world-renowned pastry chef, she really does believe in eating better, eating cleaner, in sugar reduction, sustainability, and responsible ingredient sourcing.”

Elizabeth Falkner, Chef above.

Mayssa and Elizabeth went through over 100 different flavor and formula iterations and found the right production partner to make the gummies. Good to know if you’re thinking of entering the candy space: co-packers in this industry have notoriously high MOQs for new products. Mayssa spent a lot of time attending trade shows, researching, and tapping into her network to find her co-manufacturer.

Product and Marketing

Behave’s first product is their signature gummy bears that have 3 grams of sugar, 90 calories, and 6 grams net carbs per pack, with absolutely zero compromise on flavor and fun. The bears come in sweet and sour varieties, and each bag contains lychee, passionfruit, and raspberry flavors.

“We’re not targeted towards kids and we’re not branded towards kids. We’re really branded toward an adult consumer and that thinking really played into the flavor selection as well. We could go more premium and elevated with the flavors and introduce things you don't normally find in the candy aisle. We’ve been getting such a great response already,” Mayssa said.

Launching during the COVID pandemic meant Behave had to retool their go-to-market strategy to lean away from retail and go full direct-to-consumer. Behave used a mix of traditional PR and influencer marketing to bring the brand to life through organic-feeling content from trusted sources. Mayssa is now slowly introducing the brand to select boutique retailers and sees Behave eventually existing on the shelf and in the checkout line where impulse purchases most often happen.

“93% of US adults eat candy - what other product or what other market do you have where almost everybody eats it?” Mayssa said. “That's a stat I always lean into. There are a lot of people buying candy and we just need to find them and speak to them.”

The Advice

Mayssa has worked on inspiring brands and is now building one of her own. She shared her advice for anyone else blazing a trail in business:

When you have something to add to the conversation, don’t be afraid to throw it in. What you have to say is valuable and you will be contributing to the conversation. Don’t be afraid to talk too much!
Don't overthink things, just start doing. Figure out what is step one and get to step one, then figure out step two. Put one foot in front of the other.
Break large projects into bite sized pieces while strategizing and planning.
Connect with other founders in your space! Focus on founders six months to a year ahead of you so the challenges you are currently facing are still fresh to them.

Want to indulge in some gummy bears and feel zero guilt? Take a bite out of Behave.

Photo courtesy of Behave.

Written by Kendall Embs.